Spin - Do you charge for YOUR vacation days?

[Crayola kiddies]

bright sparks .....all of my parents take holidays at the same time as me ....they ask me in feb what im taking and they book those days so they are not paying double. most of my families are government and have way more then 3 weeks a year any way.....I have never even been questioned ...it is totally the norm in my area...I guess I should be very grateful

[bright sparks]

bright sparks .....all of my parents take holidays at the same time as me ....they ask me in feb what im taking and they book those days so they are not paying double. most of my families are government and have way more then 3 weeks a year any way.....I have never even been questioned ...it is totally the norm in my area...I guess I should be very grateful

That is great don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not saying people shouldn't take the time off paid if that works for them. I suppose announcing to parents in Feb makes a big difference too. I don't do that. I have never and will never tie myself to set weeks and days so far in advance unless I have made travel arrangements well in advance. It is one thing to book time off that far ahead if you are going camping or staying home and have the ability to go whenever you please but travelling means I sometimes have to wait for the deals or simply don't know what my plans are for the summer in the winter as it depends greatly on my kids competitions, games and recitals. Summer camps have only just been announced in the beginning of April to know when my daughter will be away and when my son will be enrolled in summer break activities too. As I'm typing this I am shaking my head at myself though because I am notoriously an obsessive planner lol I know I will be off next summer for 2 weeks because we have a trip to the UK arranged for a wedding but otherwise I don't know when I will be off. If I feel a burn out coming on then I want the ability to take time off without having the parents begrudge me the time because I made a commitment/ promise to certain dates already. I don't have sick days/bereavement days/ personal days etc I simply call everything a vacation day and what I do on that day is really irrelevant as it is unpaid if I am off for any reason. Last year I took March Break off to be at home with my kids, two weeks in August to go away, 2 weeks in October for surgery and bed rest and then 2 weeks over Xmas and New Year. This year I have not had any time of bar a few days so far...maybe 3 I think and really its just because of finances. I hope to take some time in the summer but its again a money thing as I am down on my numbers and have a kid leaving in August. I always take a good 15 to 20 days off over Xmas and New Year. Where some people stipulate x amount of weeks paid vacation a year I take all my time off unpaid but do not limit myself so I suppose that could be as equally off putting for some parents with little vacation time of their own and no back up. Each to their own.

[Crayola kiddies]

I have in my policy book that I have to give a minimum of 4 weeks notice so no spur of the moment vacays for me and my families mostly work in offices so they have to book their vacation time by feb in order to get the weeks they want .... I had one family asking me over Xmas holidays when I was taking my summer holidays .... Yikes !!!!